Legolas' Fall
by thequickbrownfox
Summary: While in Moria, Legolas tells the Fellowship of an incident which occurred during his first patrol.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Drip, drip, drip"

The constant sound of water dripping seemed to reverberate throughout the stone corridor in which the Fellowship of the Ring was currently traveling. The dampness that gathered upon the cold rock walls leached away any warmth that could be found within the surrounding environment, warmth which had been until only recently nearly overpowering. Darkness seemed to almost consume them, the only luminosity coming to the small areas where the light from Gandalf's staff struck.

Frodo shivered abruptly as a stream of cold air ran down the length of his back seeming to weave through his worn and tired traveling cloak.

Wrapping the battered article further around himself, he looked into the gloom that encircled the passageway, his mind wandering back to the fight with the watcher in the water at the gate of Moria. The event had occurred several hours prior, but to the hobbit it seemed as if he could still feel the tentacle arm of the watcher upon his leg.

He was thankful for the other members of the fellowship, for without them he would not have made it and the ring would have been lost to the creature. It saddens him that the ancient trees that stood beside the doors had been lost, the watcher ripping them up and tossing them upon the magnificent doors, causing the entire entrance chamber into Moria to collapse.

The fellowship had been lucky that no one had been crushed in the avalanche of rocks and dirt. He knew that Legolas had only had just made it, for he had been standing furthest from the doors when the watcher had attacked. Having released a final arrow into the beast, the elf had leap towards the gate, but just before he had reached safety a slimy tentacle had sprang out of the water blocking his way. Then, in a move that almost defied logic, Frodo had seen the Elven prince almost fly over the obstacle in front of him, hurdling it as no man could ever have achieved. The falling rocks had blocked the rest of the scene from the eyes of the Ring-bearer, and his heart had nearly stopped with fear for his companion. It was only afterwards, once the rubble had settle and the quiet almost overwhelming, that he had heard Strider's deep voice asking the elf if he was alright. The sound of the graceful, if a little unsteady voice replying that all was well, had made Frodo almost weep with joy.

Now having spent hours within the all-embracing darkness of the ancient dwarves home of Moria, he was attempted to weep for an entirely different reason. He wished that he had never decided to come here, but he knew that there was no other way, even before the Watcher had destroyed the doors, there would had been no other way, save Moria, for the Fellowship to pass over the Mountains. They had tried the Red Horn Pass and had failed, and all other ways were being watched. No, this was the only way and they had to try it, no matter what fear it held.

To distract himself from the blackness, Frodo tried listening to the sounds that surrounded him. It seemed quiet at first, apart from the constant movement of water droplets falling from the ceiling above. But soon he was able to pick out other noises. He had noticed that since he had inherited the ring, that his sense of hearing had approved significantly. He could hear the brushing of cloth against stone and the footsteps of his companions.

He began to make a game of it, trying to guess whose footsteps he could hear. The loudest and easiest were that of Boromir's, for the Gondarian's heavy tough boots made a rough sound upon the uneven ground. Next easiest were those of Gimli, for the dwarf had iron shod shoes that clacked upon the rocky surface with each step. His hobbit companions were light on their bare feet, going nearly unnoticed. But being a hobbit himself, he could easily distinguish between the slow steady paces of Sam, who was walking just behind him, to those of Merry, who had a quicker stride. Pippin footsteps were the most distinguishable, as the young hobbit was always changing pace, slowing down to glance at or explore something or otherwise speeding up to catch up to the others.  
After these however, the game became more difficult. Gandalf footsteps were surprisingly almost silent, as were those of Aragorn's. Frodo could only just make out the wizard's, mainly due to the fact that he also had the noise of his staff that rapped upon the ground as he moved. The Rangers' steps were much quieter than that of Boromir's, the other man of the company so Frodo decided that it must be due to Aragorn's upbringing with the elves, as well as his Ranger training, that helped his unobtrusiveness.

However, it was the last member of their fellowship that was the most difficult to pin point. Frodo has previous tried to listen for the elf's footsteps while they had been traveling through the land of Hollin, just before the foothills of the Misty Mountains. He had no luck then and he suspected that he would have none now either. It amazed him that elves could move so silently. Still since there was little else to do but stare into the darkness, he decided to try anyway.  
Concentrating carefully he tried to listen for Legolas' steps. It was difficult as he had the sounds of the others to contend with as well. He knew that the elf was walking at the furthest most point of the line, acting as rear guard for the group so he concentrated his efforts on those noises he heard from behind him. At first he could only hear the long strides of Aragorn who he knew was walking just in front of the elf. But then suddenly he heard an odd sound. It was like something soft had brushed against the rocky ground of the passageway. It sounded like a footstep, but there was no following sound of a second step.

It must be Legolas, he decided after a moment. He had accounted for everyone else and through he knew that they were in a dangerous place, and there were many things that could be about, he didn't believe that there was anything treacherous about at the moment, for others in the fellowship would have sensed it already. Therefore the footstep must be the elf's. But why could he only hear one footstep, Frodo wondered.

Could the elf be injured? He thought abruptly.

"Legolas?" he asked all of a sudden, realising only then just how loud his voice sounded in the silence. He heard the others of the fellowship stir, and wondered if each had been deep in thoughts their own.

"Yes, Frodo?" Legolas replied, his soft voice questioning. He had not expected the ring bearer to speak and so wasn't sure of the reason.

"Are you limping?" Frodo asked.

The question caught the Elven prince by surprise and he stopped abruptly in response. He saw his companions ahead of him also stop and turn to look back at him. Unable to stop himself, he quickly lowered his right leg that he had been holding up ever so slightly, though he suspected that he had been too late as he saw Aragorn's eyes flash with concern.

"Are you?" the ranger asked, he voice suggesting that he would know if the elf should lie.  
There was a slight pause as Legolas considered what to say. He knew that he could not deny being injured and he wondered how Frodo had found out as he thought that he had been hiding it rather well.

"I may have hurt my ankle" he revealed reluctantly, not looking at the Ranger only a few paces ahead him.

"When?" Aragorn asked, he voice darkening.

"At the doors, when I jumped" Legolas said hesitantly "I landed on it wrong". He could see the anger building in his friend's eyes at his deceit, through it was the wizard that spoke next.  
"Why did you not tell us" the wizard asked softly.

Looking up at the wizard, Legolas did not know how to respond. He wasn't sure why he had not told the others of his injury. A part of him knew that he had been wrong to keep it a secret but the other half of him knew there was little that could be done to help him at that moment by the doors so he had not wanted to worry the others.

"Legolas?" the wizard asked again, pulling the elf from his thoughts.

"There was no time at the gates" he said truthfully. "We could not have stopped and there is little that can be done to help. I will heal in time"

Aragon looked as if he was going to speak, but Legolas knew what he was going to say so he continued "I'm sorry that I did not speak up before now. I had not planned to keep my injury secret. I just did not want to worry everyone, for nothing could be done to help anyway".  
"Ï can bind it" The Ranger argued, but he was stopped from continuing by the Wizard.  
"We cannot stop here and it will be a few hours yet before we can rest. Can you walk further, Legolas? He asked.

"I will be fine" the elf replied quickly.

He felt the wizard's eyes upon him, seeming to bore into him seeking the truth. Then suddenly the feeling vanished and Mithrandir turned to continue the journey, calling to others as he did so  
"Come we must descend to the lower levels before we can rest".  
As the rest of his companions took one more look at the elf before moving off, Frodo hesitantly approached the prince.

"I am sorry Legolas, I did not mean to cause you discomfort. But I wish that you had said something sooner. I am sure that Gandalf could be convinced to stop even for a brief time should you need it"  
"No, Frodo. You have no need to apologise. I should not have kept it hidden. But I will be fine to continue. It does not pain me much" Legolas felt guilty for not telling the entire truth, for his leg was aching quite a bit. However his guilt vanished when a small simile that came upon the face of hobbit at his words.

"I am glad that you are not hurt any further, when we were at the gate I feared the worst" Frodo began to say but he was interrupted by the arrival of Sam.

"I'm sorry Sirs, but Gandalf is moving further ahead, and we should keep up with him, he having the only light source and all"

"Yes, Sam, you're right. We must keep moving. This is no time or place for conversation" Frodo replied smiling at his friend and servant, then after taking one more look at the elf, he turned and followed Sam into the vanishing light of the wizard's staff.

Now there was only Legolas and Aragorn left is the darkening passage. The elven prince looked questioningly at his friend, as the Ranger did not seem inclined to move. There was an odd look upon the man's face, and then abruptly the Ranger moved to stand at the side of the passage, waving the elf to move in front of him, a simile appearing on his face as he did so.  
Knowing that there was no point in arguing, Legolas allowed his friend to take up the rear guard position, glad to know that he had such a friend at his back.

* * *

The Fellowship continued on for a few more hours, their path always descending. The air grew ever warmer and the dampness that plagued them before had now vanished. The surrounding walls were now hot to touch and the air dry.

Pippin was tired, his feet ached and he felt as if he had been walking for days. He wondered just how much further they would be required to walk before Gandalf called a rest. He hoped it would be soon. Even as he pondered this, he suddenly walked into the back of Merry, who he had not realised had stopped in the middle of the path.

"Pippin!" Merry said shortly as he stumbled forward. He was saved from falling by Boromir, who caught and steadied him. The man looked down at both hobbits with a slight simile.

"Careful, Master hobbits, it seems as we have run into a small problem" the Gondarian said as he indicated to them to move pass him to see.

As he shifted forward Pippin saw that Gandalf and Gimli had stopped at the edge of a large chasm that had eaten away the path ahead. The distance between them and the continuing path was about eight hobbit strides. He gulped back a lump of fear, the distance wasn't a problem for the larger folks but it terrified him that he may have to jump that distance.

"How are we going to get across?" asked Frodo beside him who was looking up at the wizard worriedly.

"It is not too far" said Gandalf encouragingly "We larger folks will help you so you will not fall"

"Legolas" he continued, indicating to elf to pass to the front of the group.

Legolas moved forward and took in the scene. The path directly in front of him vanished into darkness, the edge brittle. He would need to be careful as not to break any more of the pathway as he jumped. On the other side of the chasm, the landing did not seem as treacherous, but there were many small rocks and stones which covered the surface of the path, which would make the landing a little tricky. An added concern was that on side of the path fell away into nothingness; he would need to be careful that the others did not fall as they landed and go over the edge.

With a quick glance at the wizard, who nodded, he sprang over the blackness below, the distance causing him no bother at all. As he landed however he felt the pain in his ankle triple in strength, the abruptness of it causing him to stumble. He felt his leg give out and he began to fall forward, the rocky path under his feet making it harder to keep his balance. Bringing his hands up, he managed to turn the fall into a roll and lucky ended up stopping just before the drop off at the side of the path.  
Climbing slightly unsteady to his feet, he looked up to see the others on the other side of the chasm looking at him disbelievingly.

There was a slight pause before Aragorn asked "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" replied Legolas shortly. "Come we cannot linger too long" He hoped that the Ranger would not ask any more of his health for he knew that there was no point in discussing it, for again nothing could be done at the moment.

Aragorn looked as if once more he was going to speak, but then shook his head and said "Legolas' right, we must make haste. Come Boromir, would you go next?"

The man looked between Aragorn and Legolas for a brief moment before taking a running jump across the gap. Legolas steadied him as he landed then they both turned to help the hobbits.  
Frodo and Merry both managed to cross without help, each taking the same method as the Gondorian with a running jump. Sam decided that he would not be able to make the jump so allowed Aragorn to toss him across into the waiting arms of Boromir. Pippin was hesitant, he wanted to jump like Merry and Frodo but he was very afraid.

"Come, Pippin. You and I can cross together" said Aragorn "Would that be easier for you?"

"Oh yes" said Pippin "If you do not mind, I so do want to jump but I am afraid of falling"

"I will not let you fall" promised Aragorn as he took the hobbit's hand. Then together they jumped, Aragorn lifting Pippin up with his hand so that he would make it to the other side. In fact they made it to the other side by quite some distance and nearly knocked both Legolas and Boromir to the ground.

While the others were preoccupied with regaining their balance, Gimli had made the jump, using his powerful legs to propel himself to the other side of the gap. This left just Gandalf alone, but in no time he too had joined the others.

"How much longer until we can stop?" asked Pippin, he was nervously looking at the elf who he could see was holding up his foot was ever so slightly. He didn't want to bring up the reason for his asking but he could already see that Aragorn was also looking at the company's elf with concern.  
"Not much longer" replied the wizard as he took a quick look at the entire group, pausing momentarily on Legolas, before turning to continue down the passageway.

The others began to follow, each taking the position they were in before they came to the chasm across the path. Legolas and Aragon exchanged a glance before the elf turned to follow the others. He knew that he was limping quite badly now and that Ranger would be able to tell, but he could do nothing about that so he just concentrated on walking and continued to ignore the pain.

Lucky it was only an hour later that Gandalf called a halt. He had found a small room off the main path that would be an ideal stopping point. He watched as the hobbits quickly removed their packs and began preparing a meal.

"No fire" he said to them "It will have to be a cold meal". They nodded in reply, not complaining. The wizard smiled, the hobbits had certainly changed since they had set out on their journey, and previously there would have been at least a small complaint from one of the hobbits. Now they only rarely asked for a second breakfast and never a supper.

His musing was interrupted by an argument from the other side of the small room. Looking about he saw Aragorn approaching Legolas, who was lightly leaning against the entrance to the room. This should be interesting, he thought to himself.

"Let me look at it" Aragorn was saying.

"Its fine" replied the elf moving to slide away from the Ranger's hands.

Gandalf chuckled slightly as even as the prince said those words, he had hopped to the side holding his foot up.

"Legolas!" Aragorn almost yelled in frustration "I can see that it is causing you pain. Just let me look at it"

Gimli and Boromir were watching the scene in confusion; Gandalf guessed that they had not known the two long enough to know that this argument was something that almost always occurred each time that either the Ranger or the Prince was hurt. He wasn't sure when the habit had first began but the argument was a reoccurring theme. He wondered what it would take to end it.

"It will be fine" Legolas repeated glancing at Ranger, a small smirk playing on his lips.

The Rangers eyes narrowed knowing that he was being played, then he said "If you don't let me look at your leg, I will tell the hobbits about the time you fell in the pond, after falling from that tree"

The elf looked shocked, "You wouldn't" he said aghast.

The Ranger just raised his eyebrows in reply.

"Fine" Legolas said in defeat, almost throwing himself to the ground. He grimaced as his foot knocked against a rock.

The smile vanished from the wizards face; he hoped that the elf's injury wouldn't prove too serious. They could not afford to have the elf injured, especially not here in Moria. They would need his skills if they were to make it too the other side unharmed.

Directing his attention back to the two friends, he saw that Aragorn was currently removing the elf's light shoe. He moved closer and could see that the Ranger had had to unlace the entire boot before it could be removed. He suspected that the foot would have swelled badly but the elf show no sign of pain, apart from the slight quickening of his breathing.

Around them the rest of the fellowship had gathered, all interested in the health of the company's only elf. They watched as Aragorn finished removing the boot and carefully pulled up the elf's legging revealing his ankle.

Frodo gasped in surprise, he had expected that Legolas' leg would look bad and yes the elf's foot was swollen and bruised, but it wasn't that which had made the hobbit gasp out loud. What had, was the long wide scar that ran up from the elf's ankle to around his mid-calf. The skin around the scar was smooth, but the scar itself was pale and thin, as if stretched and pulled. He also noticed two more scars, these ones thin and short on either side of the ankle.

He looked up, taking in the surprised looks that had also appeared on his fellow hobbits faces, as well as on Gimli's and Boromir's.

"Legolas?" the ring bearer asked tentatively.

The Woodland Prince wasn't looking at the hobbit; he wasn't looking at any of them. Instead he was staring down at his foot, his eyes far away as if lost in memory.

Seeing that the elf was not going to answer, or at least not yet, Frodo looked upwards at Aragorn with a questioning look.

"Strider?" he asked, his voice hesitant. "I thought that elves couldn't get hurt or at least they healed fast, but his …" the hobbit trailed off not knowing how to continue his question without making it seem insensitive to Legolas. He knew that elves could heal fast from even wounds that would be fatal for men or hobbits but he had never known an elf that had such a scar, or any scar in fact at all.

Thinking back to the beginning of the fellowship's journey he realised that he had actually never before now seen the elf's legs bare. Legolas would either always have his shoes on, or when they had bathed he was always seemed to just appear in to water without the others seeing. At the time he had thought that that was just a typical elvish behaviour but now he realised that maybe Legolas had not wanted the others to see the scars.

Strider, he saw, was currently running his hands down the elf's swollen foot, Frodo knew that he was checking for breaks or fractures, but at his question the man had looked up briefly at the elf, before turning his attention to the others. "Elves can be injured and hurt just like everyone else, but they have the ability to heal quicker and survive injuries that would have been deadly to men. However in very rare cases if an elf has multiple injuries, that are life-threatening even to an elf, then it can be that a wound does not heal correctly"

There was silence for a moment after the Ranger had finished then the ring bearer heard a quiet voice.

"It was a long time ago" the elf said, now looking up at the others, his face show little emotion but Frodo saw deep in the elf's eyes a flash of sadness and pain.  
"It is not too badly damaged. Nothing like it was then. It will heal fine" said Aragorn trying to reassure the elf. He along with Gandalf were the only two members of the fellowship who knew of how Legolas had come to bear the scars. He knew that his friend did not like to talk about that time.

Looking at the wizard, he saw a brief look of concern appear before it vanished and the wizard turned to the others, saying "Come now, lets' get a meal underway and leave Legolas in the capable hands of our healer". Aragorn nodded his head in thanks, knowing that it would be best to treat Legolas without the watchful eyes of the company.

He watched the others move off reluctantly, each wanting to know why the elf carried such terrible scars. Thankfully none had questioned the wizard's order and soon Legolas and Aragorn were left alone.

Looking back at his friend, the ranger saw the elf was looking at him with a slight smile. "Thank you" the elf said simply.

Aragorn returned the smile in reply and turned his attention to his friend's ankle "It seems to be only badly sprained. I can feel no breaks or fractures. How badly does it hurt?" he asked.

"It was quite painful while we were walking but now that I am off it, it feels a lot better" Legolas replied truthfully.

"I will wrap it for now and if you rest during this stop, then hopefully it would have improved somewhat before we need to start our march again" Aragorn replied.

Legolas looked around the small dark room in which they were gathered. There was no light apart from Mithrandir's staff which only lighted a small portion of the room. "I will find no sleep here or anywhere while we are in this darkness". Ever since he had entered Moria, Legolas had felt a heavy weight upon him, a nagging feeling of evil and despair. He did not like this place and it made him nervous and agitated. Having an injury did not help the matter in the slightest.

"You don't have to sleep to rest, through it would help if you did" the Ranger replied, his voice understanding for he knew of the elf's fear of being trapped in darkness away from the sounds of nature and the light of the stars above. "But just resting your leg and not using it will definitely help"

"Why don't you tell the others of what happen those many years ago" the Ranger continued as he began to wrap the elf's leg. "It will help you keep your mind of being stuck in here as well as from the pain of your leg"

"I do not like talking of that time" Legolas protested, if a little reluctantly for he knew that the others would be wanting to hear his story. He felt slightly guilty for keeping his scars hidden from the company for so long. It was a habit that he found hard to break as in the Elvish world scars were only a concern of the secondborn, not those of the first. Many times other elves had looked at his scars with a mix of horror and disgust, it wasn't usually directed at Legolas' himself but he still did not like that his scars drew the attention of others. So when he had started out with the fellowship he had continued to hide them away.

"They want to know" the Ranger said simply "and they will not treat you any differently now or after you have told them, all of them look at you as if you are some magical being" he finished with a chuckle.

"What, even the dwarf?" Legolas said as small smile appearing on his face, he knew of the hobbits fascination with him and his kind, but he did not think it was quite that of which the ranger had described.

"Will you tell them?" Aragorn asked once more as he finished trying off the bandage that was now wrap snugly around the elf's ankle.

"You're not going to stop asking until I do, are you?" Legolas replied weary, "Why do you want me to tell them?" he asked.

"Because so far on this journey you haven't told any of them much about yourself, you are either scouting ahead of the company or are rear guard at the back"

"I have told them many things" he protested "I sing nearly every evening and I do join in the conservation around the fire as well"

"Yes, you sing," Aragorn replied "but you sing of elves and the history of Middle Earth, not about yourself, and if you do tell them something it's usually during the time when I was growing up so mostly involved me as well. This story is about you alone and I think it will help some of them understand who you are more"

"Do they not already?" he asked in concern, wondering if he had missed some sign. He had to admit that the mortals, both the hobbits and men, did puzzle him sometimes and only now did it occur to him that maybe he too was a puzzle to the others.

"You can be quite stand offish at times" the Ranger confessed "and I think to the others it seems as if you are in a world of your own. They don't see the world as you do, or hear its song"

"I had not realised" Legolas said, his mind searching for times when he may have mystified the others in the fellowship. He had to admit that the Ranger may be right; he did at times distance himself from the rest. "Do you think telling them my story may help?"

"Yes!" the ranger said rather strongly.

Legolas grinned at his exasperated friend. "Alright, I will tell them" he said, with only a slight bit of reluctance. "I guess that they have the right to know, plus I'm sure the hobbits will be bound to ask at some point. They won't be able to help themselves"

"At least it seems that hobbits are easier to understand than elves" Aragorn said with a laugh in reply. "Here lean on me" he said as he helped the elf to his feet. Together they made their way back to the company who were now sitting in a misshapen circle around the centre of the room. All were in the middle of eating a meal of bread and cheese.

The Ranger helped the elf to sit down upon a flat rock, before taking a handful of food that Sam held up towards them.

"Thank you" he said to the hobbit before handing half of the food over to the elf. "Eat" he ordered, knowing that the elf was likely to protest.

"I'm not …" the elf started to say.

"Eat!" he ordered once more, cutting off Legolas' words. He watched his friend roll his eyes briefly in response, and then the elf began to eat. Choosing a rock of his own, he sat down and joined the rest of the company in a quiet compilation as they finished their meal.

"Will you be okay?" asked Merry to Legolas once he had finished eating.

"My foot is badly sprained, but it will mend quickly. It shouldn't cause me too much more trouble" Legolas replied. He could see the question in the young hobbits eyes.

"Would you like to know why my leg is the way it is?" he asked "Why is has not healed as it should have?"

"Yes" came four replies as all the hobbits spoke at once. Legolas smiled as a blush came upon the cheeks of the hobbits as they each realised that they had answered rather a little hurriedly. It was obvious that they had been thinking of his scars since when they first saw them and that they really wanted to know what had happened to him.

Looking towards were Boromir and Gimli sat he noticed they too were watching with interest, Mithrandir was leaning against a rock smoking his pipe, his eyes half closed, but the elf knew he too was listening intently. Aragorn gave him an encouraging smile from his seat nearby.  
Legolas took in a small breath, the he began. "This happened a long time ago while I was on my first patrol …"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining through the leaves of the trees and the birds were singing contently amongst them. It was a good day to be walking through the forest Legolas thought. He still couldn't quite believe that he had finished his warrior training and was now on his first official patrol. Ten years of hard work had led to this point and he knew that it was likely to get even harder.

Even at his young age of 750 years, he had grown up with the knowledge that the darkness in his woodland home was growing ever stronger. At some point he would be required to lead his own warriors, it was a thought that made him apprehensiveness. He didn't think he would ever be ready for that.

"Legolas"

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice beside him, looking up he saw Hithon, his mentor and protector.

"Do not become distracted, young one" his mentor said "A lovely day now does not mean that it will stay that way"

"Sorry, Hithon" replied Legolas, kicking himself for being so obviously distracted. He wanted to prove that he was an ideal Mirkwood warrior, but he had to admit that he sometimes found the forest could cause him to lose focus. He had always heard the songs of the trees more than the average Mirkwood elf.

"Do not worry, Legolas" continued Hithon "You have done well so far, and it's okay once in a while to enjoy your surroundings even while on patrol. You just need to acknowledge when you are becoming distracted and return your focus to the task at hand."

Legolas' smiled at his mentor in thanks. When he had first found out that he had been assigned a mentor/protector midway through his warrior training, he had not been pleased. No other of the trainees had one, it was just because he was one of the King's sons and therefore his father believed that he would require extra training and protection. At first he had to admit that he wasn't the best student to Hithon. It had made him feel like his father didn't think he was up to being a warrior. But now that they had been working together for nearly 5 years he had come to acknowledge all the wisdom, experience and knowledge that Hithon provided him had helped him to become what he hoped was a better warrior. He was lucky to have him by his side.

The patrol's task this morning was to search an area of the forest for any signs of the giant spiders which unfortunately had moved into Mirkwood as the darkness fell. So far they had found no signs of the spiders, nor any webs or nests. Legolas had never been to this area of the forest before as it was far to the south-east of his father's stronghold. He had been in the patrol for around a month now but during this time they had kept to the east of the stronghold so this was the furthest he had gone down south.

Earlier this morning, Belelindir the leader of their patrol had shown Legolas, Helediron and Gailon, all inexperienced young warriors who only recently graduated from training, a map of the area that they would be searching. They would follow along the banks of a small river, then climb up onto an embankment, along a cliff then return down to the river via a steep trail near the end of the cliffs. It should only take them about half a day to complete the search all going well.

The patrol was now in the forest that grew along the top of the cliff, about halfway through their task. The trees here were too low and fragile to move about in so the elves were forced to walk on the ground, rather than their normal movement through the trees. Legolas was near the middle of the group, Hithon being on his right side and Helediron was close behind. Each was searching the surrounding forest for any kind of disturbance indicating the presence of Mirkwood's' unwanted guests.

Suddenly Legolas' senses flared in warning as he noticed a change in the song of the trees around them, he slowed trying to figure what had caused the alternations that he could detect. It seemed quiet as if the forest was holding its breath.

"Legolas? What is wrong?" Hithon asked from beside him.

"The birds" Legolas said still peering around, his hands tightening on his bow "They have stopped singing. The forest song has changed, it has gone quiet"

Just as he finished speaking, there was sudden clash of sound all around them, a great crashing that seemed to shake the ground. It seemed to come from every direction. Legolas was looking about trying to find the source when he heard Belelindir shout.

"Warriors, stand ready!"

They could not take to the trees, out of reach of any intruders, so each warrior paired with another and stood back to back, their bows ready. Legolas paired with Hithon as they always did.

"Stay by me, Legolas" Hithon said "It's just another battle. Trust your instincts and your training, and you will be fine"

Before Legolas could respond, there was a blur of movement from the trees and suddenly their enemies were upon them. They were not the giant spiders as Legolas had expected, instead they were Orcs. Large, horrible, dirty Orcs. It surprised him to see them out in the sunlight on a day like today for Orcs would usually hide away from the light and only appeared at night.

In a matter of seconds, the Orcs had reached the elves and the battle began. Arrows started flying as the warriors used their bows to cut down the closest Orcs. Legolas' aim was excellent and none of the enemy came too near to where Hithon and he stood. However the Orcs kept coming and before long he was down to his last arrow. Around him he could hear his fellow warriors begin to cast their bows aside and engage the Orcs with swords and knives.

"Ahhh!" a cry of pain shot through the battlefield.

Legolas twirled about to see Helediron fall to the ground clutching his thigh, blood welling up thru his fingers, above him stood an Orc of immense size, sword swing to strike a blow. The prince quickly drew his bow and fired. The arrow sailed towards the Orc striking it through the eyes, it teetered for a moment, sword still swinging before the beast fell to the side, its sword clattering on the ground. He sighed in relief, seeing Helediron's partner warrior jump in to defend the stricken elf from further attack.

Briefly distracted he had no time prepared as a large weigh slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. His training, however, kicked in and he managed to roll to his feet and move away from the sword stoke aimed towards him. Casting his bow to the side out of harm's way, he drew his twin knives ready for the next attack. It came swiftly, slicing through the air aimed for his side; he twisted and slammed one of his knives into the stomach of the Orc, hearing the air rush from his opponents lungs. The sword dropped from the black hands and the Orc toppled to the ground and after one last grunt, it fell quiet and still.

It was not the first Orc that he had killed with his knives, only a few days into the patrol they had encountered a small group of Orcs out to the east. However he did not think he could ever get use to the sight of the black blood that now darken his hands and knives.

Another Orc was upon him, but again he dodged out of the way and struck back slicing it across the chest. Not waiting to see it fall, he turned to take out the next one, and the next. There was just enough time for Legolas to see Hithon grappling with another, before he was once more shoved off balance as another Orc ploughed into him. The force sent him tumbling to the ground and for a moment he lay there stunned. He could hear noises around him but everything was a blur and any movement seemed to come in slow motion. He tried to raise himself from the ground, but as he got to his knees he felt another blow strike his head, just above his eyes, sending him once more to the ground.

This time, however he managed to roll with it, and he used this movement to stagger to his feet. His sight blurred once more, then cleared and he saw a huge Orc, larger than the one that had attacked Helediron coming towards him. The monster was nearly a head and a half taller than he was, and twice as broad. Legolas stood his ground and raised his knives ready to defend himself.

"Legolas!"

He heard Hithon call his name, distress was upon his mentor's voice. Looking quickly towards where sound had come from, he saw that Hithon was far to the right of him, Legolas having been pushed away by the enormous beast. He saw that his mentor was trying to get back to him but the tide of Orcs was too strong and he would not be able to look for him for help.

The Orc was approaching rapidly now and as he drew near, Legolas lashed out, his knife cutting through the dark armour and into flesh.

The beast did not even flinch.

Legolas had to step back, knives flashing up in defence, as the Orc raised his sword again and again. The strength of the blows was staggering, and despite the prince's own strength he was only just able to deflect each stroke. His arms were beginning to tire and he knew he was not able to keep his defence up for much longer. Already he was losing ground, being forced backward, one step at a time.

He tried to think of what Hithon would do. He managed to get a glance at his mentor, their eyes meeting briefly over the distance between them. He saw Hithon's eyes open wide in fear, and heard him yell out something towards him, but the noise of the battle prevented him from hearing what was said.

He hissed in pain as a stroke gouged a line through his upper arm, blood began to swell from the wound but he ignored the pain and strike back, this time managing to cut a wound along the Orc's side. However it hardly slows his opponent down. He could see that he was being forced further and further away from the battle. The trees that ran along the cliff face where the attacked had begun were now some distance away and the fighting had moved out towards the clear area near the cliff edge.

The cliff edge!

A wave of fear washed over him as he realised which way the Orc had forced him to retreat. He tried to gather his strength to change the direction of attack, but the Orc having sensed his fear suddenly made a lunge for him. Legolas stepped back automatically, but found his foot landed on nothing but air. He felt the Orc slam into him and he gave a cry of fear as he and his opponent tumbled over the edge.

The cliff was not the highest in Mirkwood, but it was also by no mean the smallest either. He had enough time to feel the rush of air around him, the Orcs claws clutching at his arms and face, even as they descended, before they reached the ground.

Legolas's right foot hit the ground first, agony springing up through his body. He heard a crunch of bones and felt the weight of the Orc slam into his upper body, air rushing from his lungs.

Then there was nothing but darkness as his world was swallowed by black.

* * *

Hithon's heart was racing. He had just seen Legolas, his charge disappear over the edge of the cliff, along with one of the largest Orcs he had ever seen. He had tried desperately to get back to his prince's side when he had seen that the young elf had been forced from his position by his side, but it seemed as if he had failed in his duty to protect the young prince.

With sudden anger, he strike out at the current Orc he was fighting, who along with several other before him, had prevented him from helping his charge. The Orc gave way and with one more stoke of his sword, the Orc tumbled to the ground. Hithon looked around quickly, his sword raised, but no other Orcs appeared, so taking his opportunity he ran towards the cliff edge, falling to his knees as he reached it.

Looking down he saw a sight that would stay with him forever. On the grassy clearing below the cliff, not far from the gurgling water of the fast flowing river, lay Legolas. His eyes were closed and his face was pale, his body looked twisted and wrong. Most of all he was deathly still. On top of his prince lay the Orc, its body also still. The stillness of the picture before him caused his fear for his young prince to increase dramatically. He would not, could not believe that Mirkwood's youngest prince might be gone, his fea taken by Mando to the Hall of Waiting.

Just as he began to despair, tearing streaming down his face, he saw movement from below. He glimpsed Legolas' right hand twitch, and his sensitive ears picked up the sound of a pained moan.

"Legolas" he yelled, adrenaline pumping through him as he began to desperately search for a way down the deadly cliff. Just as he found a very lethal looking path to the clearing below, his attention was captured by another motion from the ground beneath. He discovered that the Orc was also beginning to move. Its fall having been broken by the body of Legolas, it was recovering faster than the young elf. With surprising quickness, it had gained its feet and was already searching for its blade which it had dropped during the descent.

Hithon yelled desperately to Legolas, pleading with him to move. He looked about trying to seek out his bow which he had dropped once he had ran out of arrows, but he knew even if he had his bow and an arrow he would not be able to risk shooting the Orc for fear of it hitting the young elf.

Watching helplessly, he saw the Orc pick up his weapon and raise it, aiming to strike across the neck of the slowly waking elf before him.

"Please Legolas, move now" Hithon ordered, his voice was firm, but his heart pleaded to his prince.

* * *

"Legolas!"

He awoke to the sound of his name being called over and over; whoever it was that was screaming it, their voice was overflowing with distress. He wondered what had happened but his head was pounding and he couldn't concentrate. Pain ran throughout his body and he gasped, the air rushing back into his lungs.

"Legolas, move!"

His eyes flickered open. The voice he could hear sounded desperate and he wanted to help. The world was a blur but he could see a dark shadow moving next to him, heard a scrap of something being picked up.

"Please Legolas, move now!"

The reaction was immediate, the order in the voice broke through his confusion and pain, and Legolas rolled to the side, away from the shadow. He heard the swoosh of something pass by his head and felt a nick of pain as it sliced his ear. The world came into sudden focus and he stared up at the hideous Orc above him, the one that had fallen with him from the cliff above. The beast overbalanced as its sword dug into the earth, dirt flicking up around them. While it was distracted, Legolas rolled back and reached out, catching its neck with both hands. Then in a display of sudden power he rotated his wrists, snapping its neck, the sound sharp in the pounding noise of his head.

He felt the body once more fall upon him, his arms unable to bare the weight. Agony swelled up all around and he was again lost to darkness.

When the light returned to him once more, he saw another shadow bending down over him; he lashed out automatically, adrenaline pumping. However, whatever it was caught him arm and he struggled to free himself. He almost cried out as his body protested in pain.

"It's alright Legolas. It's me. It's Hithon"

"Hithon" he said weakly, a sob of relief escaping him at the sound of his mentor's voice.

He felt Hithon drag the body of the Orc off him, pain flaring up briefly for a moment.

"The Orcs!" Legolas gasped his memories of the battle above only just now returning.

"Belelindir and the others taking care of them, do not worry" Hithon replied a little breathlessly. "The patrol will be down here as soon as they can"

"I'm sorry" Legolas said, his voice trembling. Opening his eyes, he saw Hithon kneel down next to him and take his hand. His mentor's long dark hair had come loose from his braids and had fallen across his face.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Legolas" Hithon said softly, as he swept away the hair that had covered his eyes, which were already searching for injuries.

"It hurts" Legolas said faintly, feeling tears begin to form in his eyes. He hated to show weakness but he was unable to stop them. He had been incredibly frightened when he had fallen, but he was still scared now. He knew that he had been badly injured but he wasn't sure how exactly.

"Focus on me" his mentor said "I know it hurts but I want just listen to my voice. Can you do that Legolas?"

He was glad that Hithon sounded so calm and steady; he needed someone like that right now. He tried to nod, to show that he understood, but Hithon reached out and held his head still.

"Don't move. Just tell me where you are hurt, what pains you?"

Closing his eyes, he tried to discover where exactly he was injured as it seemed as if pain was coming from everywhere.

"My leg" he said, feeling a constant throbbing agony coming from his right limb. He a single memory of his right leg hitting the ground before everything went black. He knew that it must be broken but he wasn't sure how badly. He tried to sit up to look, but Hithon stopped him immediately. "I said not to move" then after a pause he spoke again "You're leg is badly broken". Legolas noticed the Hithon did not make any promise that he would be fine, that everything will be alright.

"What else?" Hithon said distracting him from this thought.

Tears were running down his cheeks, his heart which had been racing throughout the battle and fall, had begun to beat even faster.

"Legolas! What else?" Hithon's voice sounded loud in his ears.

He knew that he had to admit what had been scaring him the most ever since his fall.

"My…my back" he said quietly.

He saw Hithon's eyes grow wide at his announcement. It was worst fear of all elves, not much could cause a permanent injury to an elf, but two things were most feared; the loss of a limb, unfortunately elves could not grow back a hand or a leg, and the severing of the spinal cord.

Legolas had only known one elf who had suffered a severe injury to his back. The elf had been slashed across the back by an Orc blade. For months he had been confined to a bed, unable to move his legs, every life necessity needing help from someone else. He had managed to regain the use of his limbs, but the last time Legolas had seen him, he was only just able to walk a few steps unaided.

Many had thought that he would sail, take a ship to the West, but he was stronger, stronger than Legolas could ever image he himself could ever be. He had stayed and fought because of his family, a wife, and young child that he wanted to see grow up in the home, in the forest, that he too had grown.

Legolas did not know what his future would hold if he had damaged his back, but he knew that it would not be anything like what he had hoped it would be. He did not think he would survive it. Movement at his side distracted him and he saw Hithon move towards his head, he tried to look towards him, but his mentor grabbed his head with both of his hands. "Do not move, Legolas. Just keep still".

* * *

Hithon's mind and heart was in a state of panic, but he forced himself to remain for the sake of his young charge. He knew that he had to keep Legolas calm and to do so he needed to be calm himself. The prince's confession of the pain in his back had shaken him, and he knew that the young elf had seen the brief despair that had sprang up in his eyes. Taking a steadying breath he moved so that his knees rested against each side of his charges' head, hoping that this would help keep him still until help could arrive.

Even as he thought this, he felt the vibration of footsteps approaching and within moments he heard Baralindir yelling out orders as the patrol reached them.

"Talathon, Faron, Thannor set up a perimeter. Make sure those Orcs are gone."

"Legolas!" Baralindir said as he dropped to the ground beside them, taking up the slightly shaking left hand of his prince in his own.

"Sorry, Sir" Hithon heard Legolas reply with a painful gasp, his entire body seen to shake as waves of pain raced through it.

He felt helpless and could only watch as Nadhor, the patrol's medic began to remove Legolas' boot from his injured foot. He knew that it must be causing him immense pain, but there was barely a moan from the stricken elf. Hithon gently caressed the elf's clammy brow, hoping that it would help distract him from his pain.

Nadhor had managed to remove the boot and had cut Legolas' legging so that he could assess his right leg. Hithon, with even his little medical knowledge could see that the leg was severely broken; the bone had pierced through the skin so that it stuck out at a point just above the ankle. He could also see that the ankle did not look quite right, but he could not tell exactly what was wrong.

"Nadhor?" The patrol leader asked.

"He has a compound fracture to his lower leg and his ankle is badly dislocated" Nadhor answered plainly. "I will need to splint his leg before I can fix his ankle"

The patrol leader turned to the surrounding elves. "Gailon go look for a something we can use for a splint, Thannor start a fire going." He said, and after hearing their confirmations he turned his attention back to Nadhor and Legolas.

"Any other injuries?" he asked.

"His back" Hirthon said quickly before Nadhor could reply. "He said that he had pain in his back". He saw Belelindir and Nadhor face's pale at his words, and hoped that Legolas had not seen the fear that passed across their eyes.

The medic's attention now turned back to Legolas, and he asked gently "Legolas where is the pain in your back? Is it up near your neck or further down?"

The young prince's voice was weary with exhaustion. "My neck does not pain me, it my lower back that does" Hithon knew that the adrenaline that had kept the prince going during the battle and fall was now beginning to wear off. They would need to work fast.

"Can you move your toes for me?" Nadhor was asking. He had removed the boot from Legolas uninjured foot and to Hithon's relief he saw the toes on that foot moving as they should be. But as he looked at the injured foot he saw that those toes were still.

"Try moving the toes just of your right foot?"

The older elf was amazed how steady the medic's voice was, for he knew his voice would have been filled with fear if he had had to ask that question. Hithon's heart was racing with alarm at the sight of the stilled toes, but Nadhor did not seem so fearful and his next comment helped to ease, at least a little of Hithon's distress. "The injury to his foot might to pressing on a nerve preventing movement" The medic informed them. "Legolas, can you feel this?" he asked as he squeezed the injured elf's right toes.

"I … I feel tingling" Legolas said weakly. Hithon hoped that this was good sign.

"Right Nadhor, what needs to be done? Belelindir questioned.

"First I need to set his leg, and then I can deal with the dislocation" answered Nadhor efficiently.

"What of his back?" Hirthon asked.

"I can do nothing for him here; he needs the healers back at the palace. Best we can do is to keep him still and get him back to the palace as fast as possible" replied the medic.

Gailon had quickly returned with the necessary items to create a splint so with the help of some other warriors of the patrol they held Legolas firmly as Nadhor reset the bone into its correct position. Hithon held the young warrior's head, but he trembled at the cry that can from his young charge as the bone was repositioned. "It's nearly over my prince, and then you will be able to rest" he said, hoping that this would be true.

* * *

Legolas clenched his teeth, trying to ignore the pain as Nadhor splinted his foot. Every movement sent a shock of pain racing throughout his body. He really wished that it would just end so that he could rest.

"Hithon?" he gasped as he felt the medic finish the splint.

"I am here, Legolas" his protector said. Hithon's hands were still placed on either side of his head, keeping him still. "Not much longer now"

The young elf knew that his ankle would have to reposition next and he was not looking forward to it at all. He definitely knew that he was not going to like it when he saw Belelindir unbuckle the leather scabbard around his left leg, in which he kept a small knife. He watched as his patrol leader removed the knife, placing it carefully on the ground beside them, and then taking the scabbard he turned towards the prince.

"Legolas I need you to bite down on this" Belelindir said, his voice was steady, but he could hear the regret and despair that lingered within it.

He hesitated only for a moment, before opening his mouth and allowing the older elf to place the toughen leather between his teeth. "We will be right here with you" his patrol leader said, taking up the sicken elf's hand in his own once more.

The prince could tired not to think of what was going to happen next. He knew that it was likely to be painful. He had seen dislocations before and knew that they could be difficult to reposition. He closed his eyes trying to will his shaking body to relax.

"I'll try to make this a fast as possible, my prince" Nadhor said as he placed his hands upon the injured ankle, then giving no further warning he started to relocate it.

Legolas was unable to contain the painful moan that escaped him at the first touch of pressure on his foot. His teeth clenched the leather so tightly that he was sure that he was going to end up biting straight through it. He was determined, however, not to scream, no matter what the pain may be. It was however taking a lot longer than he had expected it too, even longer than it had been to set and splint his leg and soon the pain became overwhelming. He was unable to stop himself lashing out as he tried to get away from the agony. He kicked out with his uninjured leg, feeling his foot collide with something soft. Hands held him down and he could hear voices but his mind would not allow him to understand what they were saying.

He suddenly felt his throat tighten and his stomach clench, he began to gasp and he tried to roll over but his body refused to obey. He heard Hithon's voice, seeming to come from far away, and then he felt his world tip to the side as he was turned, his head and neck held firmly by strong hands. The leather scabbard was removed from his mouth just as bile reached the back of this throat. He gagged and for a moment he was unable to breathe, then a hand firmly touched his chest and finally he was able to expel the fluid and bile that was blocking his airways. He gasped again trying to get in more oxygen, his breathing coming in rapid rasps.

"Slowly" he heard Belelindir say "Just slowly". He could feel the pressure of a hand upon his chest and he tried to slow his breathing to meet its slow rise and fall. As his breathing slowed, he began to again feel incredibly weary. The pain was just too much, his body was shaking uncontrollably. He just really wanted to pass out but so far he hadn't been that lucky.

* * *

Hithon looked down at the shaking young elf that lay before him and his heart almost broke. This day has started off so well and now it had turned into a nightmare. His worry increased as he noticed that Legolas had retched up blood. His pales lips were spotted with it.

"Nadhor, have you fixed it?" he asked harshly to the medic. He knew that it wasn't the elf's fault that Legolas was still in so much pain but he just wanted to get his charge back home and to safety.

"I'm sorry, Hithon. It's not going back into place very easily" Nadhor apologised. He was looking down at the dislocated ankle worryingly. Hithon could see that Legolas toes were slowly losing colour and he knew that this was a very bad sign.

"Can you do anything? Try another way?" Belelindir asked, his voice was focused and encouraging.

"There is something I can try, but …"

He was cut off by Hithon "Just do whatever is needed, he doesn't time" the older elf demanded. He could see that Legolas was getting weaker and weaker every minute they delayed.

The medic looked toward Belelindir knowing that as patrol leader he was the one to make the final decision. "The muscles in his ankle won't relax so I will have to cut the ligaments so that I can relocate it. It will cause more damage but if I don't get the leg fixed soon …. well he might lose the use of it" Nadhor finished reluctantly.

Hithon wanted the medic to just get on with it, whatever he needed to do; he just wanted his charge free of the pain. It seemed to the older elf that Belelindir was taking ages to answer, but just as he was about to say something, the patrol leader spoke. "Do what you need too, Nadhor" he said giving the medic a nod.

Nadhor was ready, for he had been gathering the necessary items even as Belelindir considered what to do. He had taken a short, thin wooden box out of his healer bag which contained a fine silver scalpel. Taking the sharp scalpel carefully from the box, he placed it gently into the steaming hot water which Thannor had place beside them.

Turning to Belelinder and Hithon, the medic asked "Can you move him onto his back again?" Working together they carefully turned the ailing elf, who was still shaking and seemed to be only semi-conscious.

"Hold on, Legolas" Hithon said softly, hoping that the young elf would hear him. At his words, he saw the young elf open his eyes briefly; they contained both fear and pain, but also trust and strength. Their woodland prince would not give up so easily. As Belelindir replaced the leather scabbard back between Legolas' teeth, Hithon could see the bite marks that would forever be imprinted into the toughen leather.

"Alright, I am ready" Nadhor stated, now holding the small scalpel in his fingers. "Hold him still"

Hithon tighten his grip on his charges head, making sure that he could not move and risk further injury to his back. He knew that the medic had begun when he saw Legolas' eyes widen ever so slightly but the prince did not fight back as he had on the first attempt. He could tell that the young elf was extremely weary; his face was slick with sweat. Suddenly Hithon heard a popping sound and felt the prince jolt once, and then he went limp, his face going slack as conscious finally left him.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to post this chapter. Life kind of got in the way and I have found it difficult to write. I do promise that I will complete this story at some point and will hopefully write more often. However I am about to go on a trip to Europe for two months and will not even be taking my laptop with me so it might be a little while until another chapter is posted. Anyway I hope that you enjoy this one and I do apologise if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, I wanted to post this before I went away and haven't had much time to check it completely. R & R please and sorry again for the wait.**

* * *

A cool evening breeze rustled the leaves of the trees that stood along the edge of a small grass filled clearing. Their lofty tops were slowly beginning to disappear from view as the night's darkness descended into the woodland. As vision faded, the sounds of the forest became more apparent. The scurrying of small nocturnal mammals as they began to awake for the night, a hoot of an owl as it waited patiently for one of the creatures to come by and become its next meal. The crackling sounds of a fire signalled the presence of the woodland patrol as they organised the camp for the night. Food was prepared, horses tended too and bed rolls laid out ready for use.

Near to the fire that burned brightly at the centre of the clearing, leaning back against a young tree which stood solitary amongst the short grass sat Hithon. The elf looked as if he was sleeping; his eyes were slightly unfocused, not taking in the hurried chaos happening within the glade. Hithon's mind, however, was running though the events of the day, memories of a beautiful morning that had turned to disaster. Legolas had been so contented to be out amongst the trees discovering that places that he had never been to before in his woodland home.

Hithon was proud of how his young charge had handled his first month in the patrol. It could be a tough time for a new warrior going from training situations, which had few consequences, to a life or death battle. But Legolas was learning quickly and the making to become an outstanding Mirkwood warrior. This was helped greatly by his innate gift to sense trouble or disturbances in the forest well before any other patrol member. All the King's sons had displayed this deep connection to the trees and it was a blessing to have Legolas in this patrol. The young prince's skills with weapons were already well known. From an early age he had excelled with the bow and arrow, and already he could beat even some of the veteran warriors with his two knives. With more experience he would excel with them too.

The day's battle came into his thoughts, memories of the huge beast that his prince had fought. The Orc had been one of the largest that Hithon had ever seen, even an experience warrior would have struggled to overcome it. Legolas had done well to last so long against such a foe. Remembering his own actions during the battle, Hithon lamented that he had been unable to protect his charge as was his duty to his King. He had endeavoured to get to his prince in time to help, but he had been too late. Never again did wish to experience the horror he had felt as he saw the young elf disappear from view.

A small moan of distress drew Hithon's attention to the blanket covered figure lying close beside him upon one of the bed rolls. Legolas was moving restlessly, hands clenching the blanket even in sleep. His eyes were closed tightly against the pain he must to feeling and his face was pale even in the glow of the campfire. The older elf reached down and gently placed his hand on the sweat covered brow hoping that his would help calm his ailing companion.

"You are safe, my prince" he uttered softly "I know have failed you once, but I swear never fail you again". He hoped that his words would be true as he would do all he could to protect his charge, but he also knew that no matter what he did it may not be enough. The world was growing ever darker and there would be a time that he may not be able to protect his prince as he wished. The is why he had to help guide Legolas in to becoming the best warrior that he could be, a leader that Mirkwood would rely on when the shadow was deepest. He had to survive.

But would he?

The prince's injuries were severe. A fall from that height would have killed a man. Hithon had never before seen a leg as mangled as what he had seen today, but this wasn't what worried him the most, nor in fact was it Legolas' compliant of lower back pain. What worried him were the small flecks of blood that painted the elf's pale lips. His prince was bleeding internally and there was nothing that Hithon or Nadhor could do to stop it.

"How is he?" a voice asked breaking into the silence that had surrounded the protector and his charge. Hithon looked up to see Belelindir standing before him, the elf held a bowl in each hand, one was held out towards him and Hithon could see that it was full with hot venison stew.

"He is still in pain" he replied as he took hold of the bowl. "He tosses in his sleep but unfortunately had yet to awaken"

"Has he moved his foot?" asked the patrol leader as he sat down on the other side of the sleeping elf. Anyone was worried that the dislocation had caused permanent damage to the nerves in the ankle which may effort the young elf's ability to walk.

"Yes, he has" Hithon answered the relief evident in this voice. "I touched his toes earlier and he moved them, though I have not seen him do so on his own. But the colour returned to them and Nadhor said that that was a good sign"

"That is good news" said Belelindir thankfully "We need more of that".

They sat in silence for a time, each eating their stew while both lost in thought. The forest around the clearing grew fully dark, but the blazing fire continued to light the clearing and keep the area surrounding it warm in the coolness of the night. Legolas had grown quiet during the time they had spent eating, but Hithon could still hear his unsteady laboured breathing.

"We must get Legolas back to the healers at the palace" he said suddenly. "We should have left straight away, instead of making camp for the night".

On the other side of the sick elf, Belelindir exhale in readiness of what he knew would be the same argument that he and Hithon had had all afternoon since they had left the river bank below the cliffs. "We could not leave then, you know this Hithon" he stated determinedly knowing that he had to get through to the other elf. "We had to re-group and take proper care of not only Legolas' injuries, but also of the other warriors who had been injured in the attack". Helediron as well as two others had received wounds during the battle, but thankfully none had been as serious as those that Legolas had obtained. "Also it is too dangerous to travel at night, especially since we have four warriors injured."

After taking a steading breath, he continued before Hithon had a change to interrupt. "As soon as the sun rises in the morning we can begin our journey home. If all goes well we might be able to get to the stronghold in only two days".

There was a brief pause before Hithon answered quietly. "I don't know if Legolas has two days". The dark brown-haired elf was looking down at the still figure beside him, his hand once again resting upon the sick elf's brow. "The bleeding has not stopped, he is still coughing up blood and he is getting ever weaker. I don't know why it is, he should have begun to heal by now" he continued heatedly, his despair now turning to anger. "Even the small cut of his ear has not begun to heal. He might not survive two more days!"

Belelindir reached over and grabbed the other elf firmly by one shoulder, the unexpected movement causing Hithon to look up at him slightly startled. His eyes were glistering with unshed tears. The patrol leader knew that Hithon was blaming himself for what had happened to his charge. Looking directly into the grief-sickened eyes, he said "We have done all that we can do for now. What happed was no one's fault but that of the Orcs. Legolas is a prince of Thranduil's house, he is strong, he will fight and he will not give up. You know this. We will get him safety back home as fast as we are able. The healers there will be able to find what is wrong and will fix it" he continued steadfastly "Do not give up on him yet".

"I will never give up on him" replied Hithon, his voice once again calm, though it was still filled with worry. "But his injuries, he needs to get to the healers. I could take him back. One alone can travel faster than an entire patrol".

Belelindir knew that Hithon was trying one last desperate attempt to sway him, but in his heart he knew that Hithon had realised that nothing could be done tonight. "Hithon" he said assertively "You know that you cannot do that. Legolas can't be taken on horseback. We don't yet know what is wrong with his back. Tomorrow we will sling the stretcher between two of the horses, he will be safe to travel that way"

"But it might not be enough" was the quiet reply. Hithon, Belelindir saw was looking remorsefully down at his charge. All fight had seemed to have now left him.

Belelindir rose and grasped Hithon's shoulder once again in quiet support. "Get some rest, tomorrow is another day and it will bring us hope". However he knew that the older elf would not find any rest tonight, despite being weary from today's battle. He would continue to watch over their prince into the night.

Hithon smiled up at Belelindir in thanks, taking hold of the hand that lay upon his shoulder. He knew that the patrol leader was just a worried as he was about the novice warrior, but also had the added worry of thing about the rest of patrol, including the others who had been injured. "You too need to rest as well. Your leadership and strength will be needed in the coming days".

Once the other elf had departed to check on the others, Hithon's attention returned to the elf that lay beside him. Reaching down he brushed away a strand of hair from Legolas' face. The young elf's skin was hot to touch and covered in sweat. It shouldn't be, Hithon thought in confusion. Why hadn't Legolas begun to heal? There should at the very least some evidence of healing in the few hours, but instead his charge was getting slowly worse.

Looking around the clearing he saw that the earlier chaos had vanished and now most of the warriors were resting, with a few scattered about keeping watch. Seeing a passing elf he called out" Gailon. Can you please bring some water and a cloth?"

"Certainly, Hithon" Gailon replied.

It did not take Gailon long to return with the asked items. The warrior looked sadly down at the sleeping prince. "How is he, Hithon? He looks dreadful"

"It was a terrible fall and he was severely injured. However, he is strong and he will fight this" He knew that he had just repeated what Belelindir had said to him only moments before, but he realised that the patrol leader had been correct. Legolas was strong, he would not give up, he would survive, if there was any chance to survive, he would take it.

"I hope that you are correct, Hithon. His is too young to be lost to the shadow, has so much potential, so much to give to this world" Gailon said, his voice still sad but Hithon could hear a hint of hopefulness now within it. "Do you require anything else?" Gailon enquired.

"No. Thank you, Gailon. Go rest, there will be much to do tomorrow" replied Hithon.

Gailon bowed slightly before disappearing into the darkness. The fire, Hithon now realised, had burned down to a reddish glow, its light now only lit a small portion of the clearing, though its heat was still strong.

The sick elf beside him seemed to have enough heat on his own. Heat radiated off the skin under Hithon's hand. So taking up the bowl of water that Gailon had given him, he poured half into a nearby cup before placing the cloth into the remaining water. Squeezing the soaked cloth of its excess water, he wiped it across the young elf's brow removing the sweat that had built up upon it.

"Stay strong my prince, you are needed here" he whispered.

* * *

Legolas was stuck in a nightmare, images of Orcs and elves flashed about him, the sounds of arrows and screams of their targets as they struck. He couldn't make sense of any of it. He tried to think of the last thing he could clearly remember but it was difficult, his mind seemed slow.

Pain!

He could remember being in agony. The memory of it caused him to flinch and he groaned as he felt the pain return once more. It expanded through his entire body so that he had no idea where exactly in had begun. He gasped as he tried to move in an attempt to get away from the pain.

"Easy, young one" a voice spoke from above and realised that a hand was gentling stroking his face. He immediately recognised the voice of being that of his mentor.

"Hithon" he said weakly.

"I'm here, my prince" he heard Hithon reply "Lie still, you are safe".

Legolas attempted to take a calming breath, but as he did so he felt an intense pain in his stomach and something seem to catch in his throat. Automatically he sought to sit up and cough. However he found that it was difficult to move. His breathing became rapid as he struggled to figure out why.

"Be calm, Legolas. Take long slow breaths" he heard Hithon say reassuringly. "Slow your breathing to follow my hand. Can you feel it upon your chest?" He could feel his mentor's hand begin to raise and fall in a steady motion and so he concentrated on following the soft rhythm, letting the pain ease as he focused his mind on just breathing and nothing else. Eventually his need to cough lessened, but he could taste something copper on his tongue.

"Good, good. That's it" he heard the older elf say as his breathing began to improve. "You have been injured. Do you remember?"

Memories of the day came flooding back, a beautiful day that turned to battle, Orcs roaring, the wind rushing past him as he fell, and pain, unbelievable pain. "I fell" he answered, trying not to think of the terror he felt as he had fallen. He was, however unable to stop the shiver that ran through him at even the hint of the memory. "An orc…"

The pain in his stomach intensified, forcing him to stop speaking. He moaned out loud instead and his eyes began to fill with tears. He tried to turn his face away, but he felt Hithon's hand against his cheek preventing any movement. "There is no shame being injured in battle, young one" the older elf said as he used a damp cloth to wipe away the tears. "You fought bravely against a much larger and stronger foe"

Legolas was grateful for his mentor's presence and for his words. He knew that he was safe with Hithon beside him especially since currently his body seemed to be protesting against any of his commands. All he could feel pain, not only in his stomach, but from his back and leg as well. "It hurts" he managed to whisper though the agony. He usually would have hated sounding so pitiful but now he didn't have the strength to care. He was already struggling to keep his eyes open even after only the brief time that he had been awake.

"I know" replied Hithon regrettably, "We cannot give you anything for the pain, not until we get you to the healers". Legolas was confused as to why they could not give him any pain relief, but he trusted the older elf and therefore did not think question it. It had not yet occurred to him that he was bleeding internally, his mind not linking the coppery taste in his month to a serious, life threatening injury. His eyes began to slowly close as the weakness he had stubbornly held back so far started to overwhelm him.

"No, not yet, Legolas. I need you to keep awake for just a moment longer." The feeling of Hithon's hand gently patting his cheek caused he to tried to open his eyes, despite the slight moan of frustration that escaped him at wanting to just sleep, but even his condition he knew that he needed to obey his mentor's orders. Eventually after much more effort than it ought to be he managed it and looked up into Hithon's worried eyes.

"You can sleep soon, but first I need you to drink something as you are badly dehydrated" Legolas watched as the older elf turned and picked up a nearby cup. "Try to drink some of this". He helped the young prince to lift his head slightly and placed the cup to his lips. The water was pleasing and helped to wash away the metallic taste from his mouth. After a couple of slips however, the pain in his stomach worsen and he was unable to drink anymore. Sharp pains shot through his body and he found himself trying to curl up into himself to try to relieve it. Hithon, however, pressed his hands firmly on his shoulder and knee preventing him from moving. "Just breathe" he said reassuringly "The pain will soon diminish".

As he began to breathe slowly and steadily, his body begin to relax and just as Hithon had predicted the pain did reduce. Sleep once more overcame him and his eyes began to shut.

"Legolas! No, do not sleep yet. I need you do one last thing. I need you to move your toes"

Legolas felt himself being shaken slightly and he moaned in protest, but he still was unable to fully awaken.

"Please Legolas. Just one last thing and then I will let you rest. I need to know if you can move your toes, if you can feel them"

"Please". The pleading in Hithon's voice finally stirred Legolas' weaken body. Using the last of his strength he focused on doing what his mentor had asked and he managed to slowly move his toes on both of his feet. Legolas could feel his mentor's hand fall upon his right toes, so he wiggled them once again. A slight smile came upon his lips as he heard the relieved voice of his protector as he did so. "Yes, that's it, my prince. I know that you will overcome this. You are a warrior of Mirkwood and we are strong. Sleep now and rest. I will be watching over you as I have always done."

And with those words still in his thoughts, Legolas allowed the blackness to overcome him and he slipped into an uneasy sleep. It was not a healing sleep, but it was enough for Legolas just to be away from the pain, if only for a moment.

* * *

The flickering of sunlight as it filters through the leaves of the trees above awoke Legolas from his sleep. From all around he could hear the sounds of horses and the footsteps of the patrol as they made their way along the forest path that lead to the stronghold of the King. He was unsure of how long he had been asleep for but judging by the warmth of sun upon his face he figured that it was around midday.

Opening his eyes he could see the trees above him, their leaves and branches moving slightly in the breeze as they over-hanged the path. Beyond them was the bright blue sky, with only a whisper of cloud scattered amongst it. Beside him he could see the sides of two horses, one a stormy grey, the other a shining bay. He realised that he was lying on a stretcher that was stung between the two beasts. The swaying motion was smooth, the gentle rocking attempting him back into sleep for his body weary and still not yet fully awake. But just as his eyes closed, one of the horses stumbled slightly on the stony ground of the path. The stretcher twisted just slightly but the small movement use enough to cause that pain that had been previously hidden in sleep to reappear.

He gasped out loud and tried to move to somehow get away from the pain but he found that he had been lashed to the stretcher. His legs were tied above the knee, a strap sat across his chest and he felt another wrapped around his forehead, all holding him firmly in place. They completely prevented him from moving at all so all he could do was moan as the pain radiated from his injured leg.

The movement of the horses and swaying of the stretcher was not as pleasant now as with every step the pain seemed to increase, just for a moment. This consent changing of pain level was wearing him down and he just wished that he could fall back to sleep and get away from it. He felt heavy; it was exhausting just to breathe and his mind was sluggish.

He was tempted to call out to Hithon who he knew would be walking nearby; his protector was always close to him and would not leave him until he was in the care of the healers. But he just didn't have the energy in which to speak.

Suddenly an abrupt agony swelled through his lower back, he could feel his muscle tighten intensely. It felt as if someone had just stabbed him with a knife. The force of the pain was so unexpected that he didn't even have a chance to cry out. It rushed along his back and down through his broken leg. The muscles in his leg contracted, causing the broken ends of the bones to move against each other. The pain was like nothing else that he had experienced. Legolas' world whited out and he knew no more.

* * *

"My son"

"My Greenleaf"

Legolas heard a voice calling him. Slowly he recognised it as a safe voice, one that had comfort him for as long as he could remember.

"Adar" he whispered, his voice was weak and raspy. It was no more than a breath of air.

"Yes, my son. I am here"

He could feel himself being held, warms arms wrapped around him holding him close. No longer was his body constricted, bound to the stretcher. The pain was still present but oddly it did not seem to trouble him. He tried to speak but coughed instead. Breathing was difficult, each breath seemed to take so much more effort than it should have been.

"Be strong, my son. You are a prince of Mirkwood and you will not let this defeat you" said his father, his soft tone laced with a sorrow that Legolas had never heard before.

Legolas licked his lips trying to find the energy to speak. He needed to reassure his father that was fine. He knew that he was injured but it wasn't too serious. His leg was badly damaged and there might be something wrong with his back. But Hithon had said that he had moved his toes so it could be too critical. He would heal in time. So it concerned him that his father seemed so mournful.

He drew in a breath to speak but it turned into a cough as he felt liquid pool in his mouth. Someone turned him slightly so it could run from his mouth easier. The coppery tang that had plagued him since the fall became more apparent and it was only then that his mind supplied what the taste was.

Blood.

He had been coughing up blood and had not realised it! Why had his healing abilities not yet stopped it? It must be at least two days since the battle on the cliff; there had been plenty of time for him to heal, at least to stop any bleeding.

"Legolas?"

"My son, please open your eyes for me" Concern saturated his father's voice and it was only then that he fully understood why his father was so distressed.

Legolas realised that he was dying.

Forcing his eyes open, using the adrenaline that soared through his body at the dreadful discovery, he looked up into troubled blue eyes of his father. The King's usual fair face was lined with sorrow. Tears weren't yet present but he could see the fear that his normally firm eyes held.

Behind the King stood Hithon, his face was mostly hidden behind his long brown hair as the braid that usually held it back over his ears was undone, but his eyes too showed his anguish. Belelindir stood at the mentor's shoulder, a hand upon it in support. All about them was a hurried chaos of noise and movement as healers tended to the others who had be injured and member of his patrol helped or cared for the horses. But somehow at the same time there seemed to be a silence surrounding him, just a bubble of stillness that contained just him and his father.

"I'm sorry" he managed to say, coughing as he did so. The pain was becoming more apparent now. He wished it would just leave him alone just for a moment. He needed time to get his thoughts together, to say all that he wanted to say, but he had not energy, no defence against the agony that was consuming him.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, my son." His father uttered his voice now firm, the fear hidden and locked away. "I am proud of you Legolas as I have always been and will always be. I know that you have strength to win this battle, but you must fight! Do not give in, do not give up!

"I need you" he finished softy before placing a loving kiss upon his son's forehead.

Legolas tried to reply to his father's words, wanting to promise him that he would not give in, that he would fight, but he found that he could not make a sound. His body began to shake violently and his breathe become hurried. He could hear Hithon shout and the voice of the healers.

"My King, we must tend to him now if he is to have any chance of survival!"

Legolas did not want to die. He could not leave his family. He wouldn't. He was Thranduil's son, a prince of Mirkwood. It was not going to be his destiny to die here, injured on his first patrol. He would fight this and would never give up. He held onto this thought as the darkness claimed him once more.


End file.
